Riot on the Radio: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain

Twain’s story about one rapscallion and his misadventures with a runaway slave comes alive in this rendition of the beloved novel, through the amazingly talented Elijah Wood.

The story is a biting satire – extremely intelligent – as it exposes and pokes fun at absurdities that were otherwise accepted in that particular society.

A lot of the themes in the novel still matter today, like the factuality of “right” and “wrong” (Huck had an incredible monologue on this); how “reality” can be easily adjusted according to our own needs and expectations; and how much of this fabrication we ourselves believe.

It talks about how effortless it is to accept things that fit our own presumptions, how we often do what is convenient or what is beneficial to us without thinking how our actions affect others. It also discusses how we adhere to things we might not even agree with just because we have been taught that it is what is “right”, despite what our own logic tells us.

I must say, this was an excellent choice for my first foray into the audio book territory. It was incredibly entertaining, which caught me by surprise as I always assumed audio books were boring – in my head, they are always read in a monotone that would rival Ferris Bueller’s teacher.

But wow, Elijah Wood.

Every character was very well-represented; they all seemed to jump off that proverbial page. This made listening to the book so enjoyable that I found myself looking forward to my commutes so I can listen to the story uninterrupted.

Despite my initial misconceptions about audio books, I am glad I gave them a try. I have never been so happy to be proven wrong.